Grinding machine



G. C. LEACH ET AL ug, Z3, 1949.

GRINDING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Nov. 2, 1945 @@WMMW ET AL Aug. 23, 1949,

G. C. LEACH GRINDING MACHINE Filed Nov. 2, 1945 4 sheets-sheet 5 ET AL.

GRINDING MACHINE G'. c. LEAcH ,(CeaaZ Aug. 23, 1949,

Filed Nov. 2,

Aug@ 23? w49 G. c. LEACH ET AL 2,479,579

GRINDING MACHINE Filed NOV. 2, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 rvUQ/YWOW G. @flau/7i @ack Patented Aug. 23, 1949 UNITED srrAirE-fs "lenteur @erstellen @BINDING v 1 Grover 'i Cleveland Leach and=` -Richardll'llhomas .`.`Leach,.A BrawnwoodTex.

,Appneanonnvember 2, 419.4.5.1 serial No. 626;407

This invention relates togrinding machines and more particularly toa machine .especially designed for automatically grinding and sharpenefficiency is obtainedirom' them landthe machineryon which they operate. "The old methods of` beating or rolling'the disc. to athingedge'cause the .edge of rthe 'disc to expand or stretchithus changing. the concave shape .of the'risc aswell asattening and thinning the outer rim fortwo or nfioreinches.V This destroysthe balance'aind strength ,of the 4disc, leaving no means of support at the outer rim'where supportisso necessary.

"When the discv is 'placed in 'the ground; the strain is moved upward toward the" center -of n--Vti-ie/disc and any-jar, suchas caused-doy :hitting-amok or stump,- will `cause v either orboththe disc-and the cast Aspool or hub of thedisc'to lbrea-k, `and-=in certa-in instances thel thinned rim-ofthejidisc will split or curlba-ck. -Ether of 'these' oldf'methdds will overheat the metal and changeA the tem-per.

Another-object is to providea means for cutting gears, especially those that l zhaveibeen repaired and need refinishing.

Still another lprimary `object of-thel1=invention is to provide Ya utility -grinderfwhen discgrnding is not being dene.

The attached i drawings illustrate Mthe 'ibasic u principles-around which this `machineavasftlcsigned and carry out one Way :insvhchtthese principles ycan be applied.

In the'drawings:

Figure 1 is a sideelevationypartly invsection; of

the automaticdisc grinding machine,

Figure 2is a vertical sectionalzfyiew.ztakenaon the lineof 2---2 of Figure 1,

'-Figure 3 is .aside lView `taken 1iny the. 'lisnefxSe-B Figure 4A is. a .vertical1sectionall wiewrxtaken-:on ,line 4--4 of Figure 1,

' Figure 5A1 is Apart of` aicrossaseotionalwiew; of

Figure Y61 is :a` `partial `.side-.view gopposite from i .that .of Figure; 1 showing :certain lever .actions to (l-.f5L-1-33) f2 permit changing -discsmwithout stopping "i the nmotor,

:Figure 7 isa-transverse sectional view takerron "iine' "i+1 of igure 1.

5 `Figure `8--is a partial'v top viewer-lowing the gear cuttingarrangementwith a hgear i replacing-the n'plovvr disc and a cutterireplaeingfthefregulardisc grinding Wheeifand The nimproved rautomatic grinding i machine =W1ithgear'cutting-fattachmentis comprised .of.. a @-gmaiasu-pporting 'frame madeaup of angle iron -sillsiffFigurei 1,;corrverging` uprights 1 secured 151thereto and-connectedtopsills 8. f'These sills -andjuprights are properlytiedy ltog-ether .by transwersef bracesffzS, 40,14 l,-an.d 12. vlOthen convenient -supportingf means could vbey provided. Addedeto 1 f this frameworki ris;theinternal. mechanism,. `alkof gol-Which go to-makevuprthe machine.

The basic operatonaof the .disc vgrinder depends lon1revolvingaiplotti;discs 4,.1-".ignres 1, land {hiand ra grindingewheel Livin planes at:` rightgangleseto i beach other. with each'revolving .beinganount- 25' ed--oncontrolled zparall'el pivots? ljand ;l l. When v #revolving gnindingfwheelzl oomcsgin contact-.With u i plowdisc at point 48,agrindingaoti0n takes Place #whiolm: when ginder -propericontrolgsutably sharpsensffploW-discifl 4.

30 Thefyarous drives: andsnontrols:thatnnakczthe J.atom/e;.action practioaliare hereinafter escribed ,inkdetaiii alongzznrith the-important auxiliary-fuse .'.wrcnttingnearzteeth.

seaside: than crgrinder -.;fr.a-me.` drives ,pulley 19, .sidente 'Zi mountedzon-,ashatt llyigfures 57 and l,

aznonnterclociswiseiadirectonras viewedin'i'gmure; 1N.. a incite .drvese ke'oirom `.shaft Il' iournalledz `sitear-ings?ill,a1'iot.2l., .Figure `7. One

intuitie/e1.goes` tay wan-o pulley :22.,;Figi;1res 7 :and 1,

.i nndionerthiioughipilllem 5.

-Pnuey L22,. through belt 23r drivesrulley .1124. -;.Pnllcy.=n24risixmonntedcomshait :21, whicheiniturn drivesg dngrfwheell 5.

45 i -nionden tov-.manuallyaiiustygrindtns wheelv l5 @with l .Relation to plow ,disc 91A, a i hand ,wheel 2 8 mountedfen-.screwf athreaded in nut `wl'lich iserigidlyyqfastened toiswinginggyke I'. :.'lhcfree .i endeof yoke.' 3l .isp1 pivotally onnected :at `3.2 l to sonne zapper-.grinding iwheelsur!porting posts .39,

Screw 29 swvelly turns in stationary box 30a, which is pivotally mounted between pivot screws 33 in small yoke 34 of arm 35. This arm is in turn pivotally mounted in pivots 36, anchored in bracket 31 which is rigidly mounted to the framework I2. The part pivot 36 plays in automatically operating the in and out motion of the grinding wheel, in order to get the desirable wide bevel shown in Figure a, will be explained in connection with the drive system associated with pulley 25. In order to tighten belt 23, both pivoting posts that support the grinding Wheel unit are made up of sections 39 and 40. These two sections on each post are held together by U-bolts 4| engaging straps 44 on each post which when tightened,

hold the sections 39 and 40 rigidly together. Ad-

justment screw 42 working through stationary nut 43 carried by section 40 and bearing against lower end of 39, provides a simple yeteffective method of tightening belt 23. The lowersections 40 that help make up the upright supporting posts, pivot on oversize sleeves 62 welded to bearing brackets 63. Tie bolts 45 hold the pairs of sections 39 rigid with relation to each other.

Pulley 25 drives reducing pulley 38 through V belt 26. Pulley 38 is rigidly mounted on shaft 41 journalled in replaceable bearings 46 fastened to the horizontal supports 48. The reducing drive between shafts 41 and 5I is carried out by gear 49 rigidly mounted on shaft 41 and gear 50 rigidly mounted on shaft 5|. When machine is in operation, shaft 5| is thus always in motion.

Continuing with this major drive system, as shaft 5I is turning, pulley 60 also turns as it is rigidly mounted to shaft.V Now, through belt 64, pulley 60 drives pulley 65, which is rigidly mounted on shaft 66. Shaft 65 is journalled in bearings 1I and 12 and also carries bevel gear 61 on one end which mesheswith keyed gear' 68. Gear 68 slides on and drives shaft 69. On the upper end of shaft 69 is mounted the plow disc |4, or the gear 13. At times, when discs are bein-g changed and teeth are being cut in gears, it is sunk to take set screw in gear 68 to prevent it from falling out when set screw is loosened. In changing discs, it is desirable to lift the disc off the grinding wheel. This is done by lever |00, Figure 6 and Figure 4. Lever |00 is securely welded to end of pivot I6 which in turn is rigid with relation to framework 95. Thus, when lever |66 is in its lower position shown at |02, and is engaged above stop I9| as shown in Figure 6, plow disc is raised away from grinding wheel. When truing up the diameter of a disc, its edge is adjusted until it is approximately perpendicular to the face of the grinding Wheel. In addition, it is also necessary to disengage the grinding wheel assembly from the pulley |04 to stop the in and out movement to be explained later. When this adjustment has been made, the entire disc unit should be held in a rigid position. This is accomplished by adjustment screw |93, Figure l, which works against framework 95 and in opposition to action of spring 96.

In mounting a disc ready for grinding, it is firstslipped over the threaded end of shaft 69, and is settled against baille disc 19 which rests on a conical support 18. Baffie disc 19 carries on its circumference a rubber vibration absorbing ring 83. Between the small baie disc 19 and the largerbaile disc 86 which also carries a rubber ring 82, about 80% of the noise and vibration is eliminated. Conical shim 8| is next dropped over shaft and into disc hole, thus automatically centering disc I4 with the aXis of shaft 69. This conical shim permits the sharpening of discs having various sizes of holes. Hand wheel 11, which has an integral screw thread, rigidly clamps plow disc I4 into position. Large baiie disc 80 is next put on and is held in position by hand knob'16 which screws on small threaded desirable to stop rotation of shaft 69. In order to do this, lever 86 is disengaged from stop 81.`

Since lever 66 is fixed rigidly to short shaft 85 and lever 88 which carries idler pulley 84 is also rigidly fastened to shaft 85, belt 64 is allowed to slip because of lack of tension when lever 86 is raised thus moving idler 84 to the right. mentioned before, the entire disc unit which is built upon and into framework 95 pivots at points I6. This action is necessary both for adjusting the disc with relation to the grinding wheel be-i fore operation and to allow disc to freely follow or ride the grinding wheel during the sharpening operation. The disc is held in proper contact with grinding wheel by tension spring 96, which causes the disc to pivot forward toward the grind-1 ing wheel because of the fact that it is attached off-center to extending bracket 91. To compensate for discs of various diameters as well as for the grinding wheel as it gets smaller, provision is made for lowering or raising the disc I4 by shaft 69. After loosening lock nut 9| and set screw in gear 68, hand knob 89 can be turned. Screw 90 is secured to part 92 which carries retainer nut 93. The part 92 is then fixed relative to the frame 95. Shaft 69 has on its lower end a head 94 which rests on thrust ball 98 and which keeps it in this position because of retainer nut 93. It is readily seen that by turning knob 89, shaft 69 is lowered or raised and yet is always in driving contact with gear 68 by means of keyed drive 99 working in slot 10. Key 99 is counterportion 14 of shaft 69. The reason for the reduction in size on top end of shaft 69 is to save time in screwing on hand wheel 11, which would otherwise have to be screwed all the way from the top of the shaft.

An important improvement on this disc grinder and the final necessary action that makes it automatic is the drive developed for automatically moving grinding Wheel I5 in and out under the plow disc I4 in order to grind a long curved bevel illustrated in Figure 5A. Going back to shaft 5I, it is noted that pulley 53 drives the large pulley |04 by means of belt 65a. This large pulley |04 is rigidly mounted on shaft |05 which journals in bearings mounted in pivoting bracket |66. Bracket |96 is welded on shaft |91, which in turn pivots in angular uprights 1 of the framework. On occasion it is necessary to stop pulley l |04, while shaft 5| continues to rotate. This is -done by means of lever |08 which is welded or Iis loose, which allows it to slip on pulley 53. In

this position, pulley I 64 is also locked against brake I2 which guards against any possibility of pulley |94 turning. This serves to hold the grinding unit stationary so it can be used to true up discs or as a utility grinder for grinding chisels, axes, etc. Spring ||3 acts as a counterbalance for pulley |04 pivoting unit. Welded to the end of shaft |05 is a crank lever I I4 to which is pivotally mounted connecting bar II5 that can be fastened at either of mounting holes II6. Thus, it is seen that connecting bar I5 will move back and forth horizontally because of crank action of'flever- IM .easypulley-MIL-rotates. Bar I| is Apivotally bradded by pin H8, to clamping .,.barslll After position --ef y clampingu-niton bar is decided-uponftail nut\|2! isftightened on' bolt "I'I 9 which l locks-clamping unit in position, y vbut does not interfere with pivoting action 3 at i8. vEy-allowingpivoting-actions totake place gat; |f| 8, 36,533; and-32,itis'seenhow therevolving ,of;pulleyil-il-causesthe ina-nd outpmotion'- of t; the grind-ing wheel. 4`By-moving'y pivot I itV to outer hole and' by` locating clamping unit-carrying tail nut |20 at different positions on bar 35, the length of the back and forth travel of the grinding wheel can be predetermined. For large thick plow discs this travel needs to be more than that required for small thin discs.

The particular motion through which the grinding wheel goes in moving in and out is very important in determining whether or not an arc is formed between X and Y, Figure 5a, and not just a straight nat surface that would weaken the cutting edge of the disc. The particular action employed causes the grinding wheel to cut more at X and Y, Figure 5 than at Z, thereby giving the curved bevel. Why this is done is seen by examining the diagram of Figure 5. This shows the time element as compared to the element of travel of the crank H4 as it affects the grinding wheel. The circle W represents the travel of the crank while A, B, C and D translate this travel into comparative time units. In other words, the crank turns 1/8 revolution to cause the grinding wheel to travel the distance A. It also turns 1A; revolution to cause the grinding wheel to travel each of the distances B, C and D. It is easily seen, therefore, that more grinding action will take place at the extremities of the stroke of crank lever H4 than at right angles to the extremities. Less grinding action at Z than at X and Y means the bevel on the cutting edge of the plow disc has to be curved. The convex ground edge of the disc is obtained not only by reason of the swinging of the wheel l5 but also by reason of the spring-pressed pivoted mounting of the disc supporting shaft 69. In this manner, as wheel l5 swings toward disc III, the pressure of the grinding on the disc will cause the disc to swing with shaft 69 on a reverse arc.

In practical operation, the inch grinding wheel I5 rotates approximately 2,400 R. P. M. which is standard for this diameter and quality of wheel. The disc |65 is geared to revolve at approximately 24 R. P. M. If the disc turns less than 2G R. P, M. the grinder tends to burn the cutting edge of the disc; if it is allowed to turn over 30 R. P. M. undesirable vibration sets up. The large pulley mit revolves at approximately 2 R.. P. M., or, it takes the grinding wheel l@ minute to travel one way across the ground bevel X, Z, Y, Figure 5. While this one way travel takes place (1A minute) the plow disc revolves 6 times. Thus, in moving in and out, the grinding wheel grinds a reducing and increasing concentric spiral on the bevel of the plow disc with most of the grinding taking place at X and Y, Figure 5. This action is best seen and is most valuable in correcting the cutting edge bevel on old discs that have been sharpened by inferior methods. A further reason why the in and out movement makes an oval-shaped bevel is that on dull discs, the thickest part of the bevel is at Z and requires more to be ground off at that point. This, and the fact that the grinding wheel stand leans forward towards the disc Ill at the proper angle to cause the grinding wheel I5, Figure 5, to touch the edge of ".:the disci] las it-.does helpslaccount'fonthe result- `.in Yand out motion. of fthe. grindingflhead, gears thathavehad new teethweldediinawhere broken can; be `reii-nished. .All :baillessare removed :from shaft B9 and the repaired gear":-'I3,:Figure.-8,.is mounted in place oftheplowzdisc. The grinding whee1a|2I:is.-set.in afgoodY tooth gap and adjusted by hand wheel 28, Figure 8, at the time crank lever I Ill-is at theextremity of its stroke.

,Next, set indexing bar |22 inanother good tooth gap at any convenient pointonthe periphery-pf the gear. This can be done by adjusting with clamping bolt |25 and pivot bolt |23. The clamp on the end of bar |24, fits around stationary bearing cuff |26. In cutting the teeth, lever 86 is released so that the disc shaft 69 does not rotate. After one tooth is cut, index bar |22 is pivoted back out of mesh and the gear is turned until the next gap engages with index bar which is again locked with pivoting bolt |23, Figure 1. Gear teeth can, of course, be cut manually by properly operating hand wheel 28.

With al1 drives disengaged and the disc unit locked back out of the way, the grinding wheel becomes an eincient utility grinder.

As the grinding wheel I5 is set up to revolve toward the disc at its point of contact, al1 waste tends to fall downward. To catch this waste, flap |21 is provided. This nap extends from one side of the machine to the other with one end lower than the other as shown in order that vibrations will cause al1 waste to travel toward one side of the machine and out where it can do no harm. Skirted collar |28 immediately below disc on shaft 69, keeps grit out of bearing |38, and can be adjusted up or down by means of set screw I3 I.

What we claim is:

1. A plow disc grinding machine comprising a frame, a grinding wheel, means swingably supporting said wheel, means for rotating said wheel, a disc supporting shaft rotatably and swingably carried by said frame, means for rotating said disc at a speed different from the speed of said wheel, means operatively connected to said wheel rotating means for oscillating said wheel supporting means and spring means urging said disc supporting shaft toward said wheel whereby to form a rounded bevel on the outer edge of said disc.

2. A plow disc grinding machine comprising a frame, a grinding wheel, means swingably supporting said wheel, means for rotating said wheel, a disc supporting shaft spaced from said grinding wheel, means rotatably supporting said shaft in a plane perpendicular to the plane of rotation of said grinding wheel, spring pressed means swingably mounting said shaft supporting means on said frame, means for rotating said disc, means adjusting said wheel relative to the disc, and means operatively connected to said wheel rotating means for oscillating said wheel supporting means in timed relation to the rotation thereof, whereby to form a rounded bevel on the outer edge of said disc.

3. A plow disc grinding machine comprising a frame, an abrading wheel, means swingably supporting said wheel on said frame, means rotating said wheel, a disc supporting shaft, means rotatably and swingably supporting said shaft on said frame with the axis thereof at right angles to the axis of said wheel and spaced therefrom, spring means constantly urging said latter named means toward said wheel, means rotating said shaft, means operatively connected with said wheel rotating means oscillating said wheel supporting means with rotation of said wheel, Vand means for adjusting said shaft endwise.

4. A plow grinding machine as set forth in claim 3 wherein said oscillating means includes means for disengaging said oscillating means from said wheel rotating means.

GROVER CLEVELAND LEACH. RICHARD THOMAS LEACH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

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